I'm well aware that we have been silent for a very, very extended period of time. Unfortunately, neither Ambrrr or I have been off having amazing adventures. Ambrrr's working on her thesis, and I'm struggling through grad school. Also, the fact that we live more than a thousand miles apart has apparently had some effect on our blogging. But, we're currently in the same city! (on Spring Break for me) and have been inspired to fill you in on what's been going on, knitwise anyway.
This summer I was knitting like a fiend, and updating pretty well. In August I moved to Arizona to work on my masters, and school has stolen all the time I used to spend doing things that make me happy. Despite being incredibly busy, I was able to get a few projects knocked out.
I might be missing a few items, but I'm not even in the same state as all my FOs, so we'll just have to hope I get them all in. And apparently I don't have pictures of most of these readily available, so bear with me until later in the week when I'm home and can fix that.
Wedding Shrug. My uncle got married in October, outside in Northern California. I had a perfect dress, but it was going to be far too cold, so I knit myself a shrug. I used the "Posh Wedding Shrug" pattern, knit with Bernat Alpaca in a slightly off-white color. The yarn made it very soft and cozy, but was a little too fuzzy and kept leaving fiber on everyone. Being the amazing procrastinator that I am, my brother was driving us to the wedding, and in the valet line I was sewing in the loose ends. Unfortunately, I wasn't completely done (I hadn't managed to get the lace edge or the ribbons done), but it looked pretty good. I was actually the flower girl (a dream come true!) so all eyes were on me, and I was overly conscious of how unfinished I must look, but I got a lot of compliments, especially from other knitters. I've been meaning to finish the last few details, but keep getting distracted by other activities.
Every year I knit my brother a christmas present. He's a very practical guy and hates useless junk. A few years back I had knit him fingerless gloves. He destroyed or lost them in some way, so I made replacements. I decided to go all out and use sock yarn and a really fine gauge to hopefully inspire him to take care of them. I used this pattern for inspiration and some math help on the fingers, but a lot of it, I just kind of winged. I used Red Heart Heart & Sole sock yarn. as usual, I needed to find a yarn I didn't think he could destroy, and I was interested to try this stuff out. It was surprisingly nice to knit with. I was nervous about the size of the first one, and waited until I was back in Tulsa for Christmas and had my dad try it on. It fit perfectly, so I cast on the second. Then my dad demanded a pair, which I barely started after the first pair was completed. I want to make some for myself.
About two weeks ago, I decided to cast on my second Charade sock. Yes, it's been almost a year since the first one was completed. I only knit about an inch before my life caught back up with me. Luckily, spring break is here, and I've been sitting in New Orleans enjoying my break and knitting non-stop. In the past four days I've knit almost the entire sock. All I have left is the toe. I'm in love with the pattern, and the yarn (my first Koigu experience). I can't wait to have the sock done today so I can wear them soon.<3 uhlissa
